SSD throttling got you down? If so, Cryorig has you covered with its new Frostbit M.2 SSD cooler that it will introduce at Computex. The company claims the passive cooler is the industry's first dual heatpipe cooler for M.2 SSDs.
Even garden-variety SSDs have thermal throttling mechanisms that reduce performance during use to keep your SSD healthy–particularly the SSD controller. Unfortunately, these throttling mechanisms can engage and disengage rapidly, so it can be hard to detect. Throttling definitely has an impact on SSD performance, specifically during extended tasks, like large file transfers.
Many new M.2 SSDs come with either affixed or optional heatsinks to dissipate waste heat, but those models are usually more expensive. Some tricked-out motherboards also come with built-in M.2 SSD coolers, which also helps. If you have a cheaper motherboard or an M.2 SSD that comes without an integrated heatspreader, the Cryorig Frostbit might be a good solution.
The Frostbit design features an "Ultra Thin" heatpipe embedded in the base of the cooler, which helps distribute heat from the M.2 SSD components evenly. The larger 6mm heatpipe pulls the heat into the passive radiator, which sports 38 fins, from both ends of the smaller heatsink.
It doesn't help if you have a fire-breathing GPU right on top of your M.2 SSD, and that's usually the case. Unfortunately, many M.2 SSD slots are positioned between PCIe slots on the motherboard, which means they tend to be buried under the GPU. That also makes it difficult to attach a bulky passive cooler, or one of the more exotic waterblocks we've seen for SSDs.
Cryorig addresses the problem by allowing you to adjust the cooler and offset it from the GPU, as seen in the graphic.
The heatsink is rather small, measuring 72 x 27.3 x 57mm. You'll notice the 72mm length doesn't entirely cover a standard M.2 2280 form factor SSD, which is 80mm long. Instead, the cooler is designed to cover just the components on the SSDs' PCB and not interfere with the mounting screw or interface, which are on the opposing ends. Of course, this means the cooler wouldn't be effective with longer SSDs.
The passive cooler, which weighs 56g, can dissipate up to 12W, which is far beyond what you will find with a typical M.2 SSD.
Cryorig hasn't shared pricing or a release date yet, but we should learn more at the looming Computex.
